The present exemplary embodiment relates to gaming systems and methods. It finds particular application in conjunction with game card machines, and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the present exemplary embodiment is also amenable to other like applications.
Pull tab tickets or game cards are often used for gaming and entertainment. In the past, a common practice has been for a merchant to buy an inventory of tickets and retain them in a jar or other container. Customers purchase the tickets and open them to reveal the outcome for the ticket.
The individual pull tab tickets are typically fashioned from paper and are rectangular. A portion of the ticket, the window, is printed with the outcome (an indicium such as a symbol or an alphanumeric character). To conceal the window of the ticket, a flap is positioned over it. When the ticket is purchased, the flap is pulled back by a player to reveal the outcome. The ticket may be printed with serial numbers or other material to identify the ticket and the game.
As mentioned, the outcome may be a combination of symbols, e.g. 7's, cherries, bells, gold nuggets, or “bar” symbols, often of the type found in slot machines. The outcome may also be a number or series of numbers. For the game to which the tickets pertain there is a pay schedule for the outcomes, i.e. three gold nuggets win twenty dollars. In other instances, winning numbers are posted for the customer to compare. If the outcome of the ticket matches a winning outcome, the establishment pays the player the indicated amount. If the outcome is a losing outcome, the ticket is a loser and the purchaser receives no prize. The schedule of prizes or awards is designed, for the number of tickets printed and sold for the game, to provide the establishment with a profit.
More recently, ticket dispensing machines have been developed for allowing customers to purchase pull tab tickets via an automated process. Such machines typically are capable of accepting one or more forms of payment (cash, coins, etc.) and dispensing one or more tickets. Some machines have multiple columns containing pull tab tickets for a number of different games. By automating the ticket dispensing process, the machines free up employee time that would otherwise be spent selling the tickets to customers. In addition, the machines can offer greater security of the tickets as opposed to storing unsold tickets in a jar or the like.
While ticket dispensing machines have generally improved the overall ticket sale process, redeeming winning tickets for payment and/or checking/verifying a ticket once it has been sold is still generally performed manually. There is also room for improvement in the dispensing mechanisms.